#qi-hardware IRC log for Thursday, 2010-09-02

e.g., i went through three of them for the blinkenlights. the one on the video and pictures is a first version board, but the final one has better mechanical properties. didn't actually complete the board, though. but i'll use the data for ben-wpan

kristianpaul: tx power seems to make zero difference :) i set it to 251 mW and dumped some files at the PC next to my TV over wifi. so either that pc sends with more power than the access point or the tx power setting doesn't matter much

roh: let me tell you something about the 'nice pads' that are seemingly always missing. the problem seems to be that you always just realize after the fact which 'nice pads' should have been put in which place on the board.

doesnt even need to be useable with the regular case without cutting. i'd also add the bat-pins on there. so one could make a nanonote like the 'control terminal' with a plug connector into something 'more clunky'

wolfspraul: and then it's very useful to have old stuff that has found its way into many designs. not to screw the guys who comply 99% but get 1% wrong, but to prove in court 1% of those who happily violate the full 100%.

wolfspraul: some of gpl-violations.org stories are just scary. e.g., that set-top box kinda thing in austria. they treated it like something proprietary. once forced to comply with the gpl, they - among other things - produced a document listing just what they had included. it read like a "who is who" is free software.

wolfspraul: of course, the things on which legal action was taken/threatened was just the tiniest portion of the whole catalog. something that's absolutely bullet-proof so that they have no choice but to admit that they did something wrong. (well, some persist until they get a kick from the judge.)

package still sitting at customs. mail still down. and the people who are on the road this morning seem to be very unhappy about the people who are on the road this morning, if all the honking is any indication :)

( DocScrutinizer: which of the two GND connections of the balun B1 would you call "DC feed" ?) The sym GND is the "digital" GND which may usually carry DC components from both chip outputs - it shall be connected to same GND plane as chip. The asym GND is the RF GND and should treated similar to a dipole antenna - means this GND plane should be the outermost, possibly even case shielding (my educated guess)